


snow code

by dalyullys



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: 1976, Anxiety, Cartinelli kids named after their uncles, F/F, Mental Health Issues, Tony being the beloved cousin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 14:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13032693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dalyullys/pseuds/dalyullys
Summary: Jarvis picked up the phone with the second tone. Angie tried to not worry him, only telling him to tell Howard that they had ‘snow code’ at home before telling him that they would be the ones to go over there. Angie took the pie out from the fridge, cutting one big slice for both. They would understand the missing spot in the tray, or that was what Angie wanted to think.





	snow code

**Author's Note:**

> i won't ever get over them. I wanted to share this as I couldn't stop myself from thinking about this tiny prompt.

Angie’s eyes flung up at the sound of the bathroom door closing. The sun wasn’t out yet, she could discern by looking lazily to one of the big windows in the master bedroom, but there was none by her side when she threw her arm to her right. Peggy wasn’t there, but Angie had listened the door, so she decided to wait awake for her. But when she finally overheard the shower over her breaths, her eyes finally gave up on waiting.

She rolled over her side to fall into the other woman’s side and buried her face onto Peggy’s pillow. Her perfume lingers there and Angie found herself thinking how much she missed Peggy’s old perfume. Not that the new wasn’t good, but the old one was the one that actually smelt like her. She missed too many things to be honest. Angie kept wondering about that for a hot few seconds before she falls into slumber again.

However, when she wakes up again, Angie is still alone in bed.

Her hand wandered around Peggy’s night stand, trying to find the wristwatch she wears everywhere. When she caught up the hour, she felt heavy all of a sudden. Was there any emergency at the agency?

If there was an emergency to happen, she would have woken her up. She always did, for nearly twenty five years already.

Her feet were quick in the floor, arms slipping in the blue silk robe and feeling uneasy right after checking the bathroom, which was empty and neat like always. Angie walked out of the room bare footed, trying to catch a light in one of the rooms. If they had been in Howard’s penthouse back in New York, Angie could probably know in which room Peggy would be without checking. She always had a like for the tiny room by the kitchen, the one with the pretty dresser, the old dark wooden desk and the single bed. However, they weren’t in the penthouse anymore, moving into Washington after they located Peggy there as director. And although Maria spent most of her time with Angie, helping her adjusting to the situation, she still wasn’t fond of the whole place.

They were there for seven years already, to be honest, but Angie was stubborn as hell and she had to chug the feeling for the sake of Peggy’s mental health, which lately was being worse than ever.

Angie’s fingertips caressed the big table at the lounge, looking directly at the only room that she didn’t look in. The house was cold and the feeling of barging in Peggy’s studio made her feel even colder. While they were living in New York, Angie only remembered a few times she dared to come in that private space and most of them where for emergencies.

But she had to check, Peggy was missing, what the actual heck.

However, it took her a glass of schnapps and some soft encouraging words from herself to finally gather the courage to enter the studio. It was to early to drink, but she left another glass ready to chug it right after she get out from Peggy’s studio. Now that she was closer to the door, she could hear the radio really low, playing an old song that Angie knew her best girl was fond of.

She had played it in so many important events of their lives that Angie had sung it a couple of times for auditions. The first time they had woken up together, when they made Peggy officially the director of the agency, when their two kids had arrived home; and Angie could go on if she started to count every time her girl felt nostalgic and had called her from the living room to dance lazily to the beat of the song.

Swallowing, she knocked the door, trying not to be loud even when she knew that aside of Peggy she was alone in the house. Michael and Alessandro were with Howard after they had plead Peggy to let them stay over at his house, saying they wanted to be with Anthony, Howard’s six years-old. They were way older than him, Micheal being ten and Alessandro eight years older than him, but they actually cared dearly about the little Stark. And Howard always had a soft spot for Peggy’s boys, so they were out of the house before Angie could kiss them goodbye.

“Babe, ya there?” Her voice was soft, but hearing no response made her want to step forward. “I’m comin’ in, a’right?”

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness there, Angie felt her breathing getting caught up in her throat. She could see the tiny lights of the radio over the drinks cabinet and then she could see Peggy’s lower half sticking out from under the desk.

“Pegs, are you okay?” Angie tried to not sound so obvious about the panic she was feeling. Her usually cheerful tone went away thanks to her cautious voice. “Peggy.”

Angie heard a muffled sob and she sighed in relief for a second, rubbing her fingers over her forehead. She wasn’t dead nor unconscious, but when Angie lifted her eyes she finally noticed that the whole desk was full of metallic pieces. Cautious again, knowing about how Peggy could start to run away if she was in the middle of one of her ‘attacks’, she walked to the furthest lamp on the studio to turn it on. The soft orange light bathed the room, Peggy still lying under the desk, and Angie recognized every gun in the house over the desk, dissembled as much as it was possible. Ammunition were nowhere to be found, for the record, and that worried her.

Trying to not scare her, the italian woman sat in the armchair next to the desk and recomposed herself before pulling off her best reassuring voice.

“Hard day at work, english?” She felt the old joke rolling in her tongue with nostalgia, leaning in the desk a bit. “These big guys don’t know how to clean their guns on their own now?”

For a second, Angie waited for Peggy to say something. It was true that when she came home after lunch, the brunette had been a bit quiet. When Angie had looked at her, after waving goodbye to the boys, she thought she had seen relief in her partner’s eyes. But after that, the day went incredibly well, even led to some different activities that Angie enjoyed more than telling Peggy about her day off, given to her by her wife herself since she was her boss. Being actress lasted the last thirty years, but now helping her english woman out with paperwork at the agency sounded actually nice. She jumped in and out, here and there, for some roles, but she had thought that soon she would have to retire and let the younger stars rise.

“I let that Fury boy in charge of kicking asses when I’m not there,” Angie hold a laugh, trying not to sound desperate for the other woman to say something. “Betcha he didn’t do a damn thing, I’ll talk to him and—“

“I panicked at work Angela,” Peggy’s voice was soft, full of the tears she had been crying. She rarely called Angie by her full name. “I did point my gun to a young agent, she entered my office so sudden...I felt every droplet of adrenaline running through my veins like wildfire,” Angie tightened the grip over the edge of the desk. “For a second I was at the Griffith again, the thought of Dottie barging in at any second to end my life.”

That could be the motive behind every gun in the house being displayed over the desk, their guts all over the place.

“But ya know she’s dead, Pegs,” Angie lifted her eyes to look at the ceiling, with the memory of that one report being recalled. She had read the whole folder after Peggy had fallen asleep, all wounded and bruised. “You took care of her not long ago.”

“I know, but my head did not seem to get the whole thought right,” another soft sob muffled, probably with the back of her hand. “I was so willing to shot. She was a youngling, for God’s sake...” now her sob was audible and Angie didn’t like where Peggy what’s going with it. “What would have happen if I got that paranoia at home?”

Angie swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm herself down before standing up and walking towards the station. She lowered the volume more, almost hearing the soft thump of the snow falling outside heavily.

“Nicholas had to put himself after Daniel in case I tackle him down to chase that youngling,” Angie saw Peggy shift a bit under the desk, going around it to be closer to her. “I have never see him that determined to use his crutch to knock me down.”

“Oh sugar, let me get there on Monday,” Angie chuckled softly, resting her hands in the desk for a moment. “I know how to use a crutch properly to hit someone, y’know? My brother taught me with his own.”

That little comment made Peggy let out a throaty chuckle and Angie took a glimpse of her wife’s hands tightening the grip over the hem of her own robe. It felt so casual now the whole situation, after thirty years of being together. She had calmed down the older woman so many times that now it just felt natural to slip in her usually cheerful persona when Peggy was having a hard time, from her anxiety building up to a whole night terror, full of war memories. Angie once had to snatch the gun out of Peggy’s hand with a bat she had found in Howard’s penthouse lounge wall. That one time way before they had the kids with them, when Angie didn’t got used to lock the door of the master bedroom. She could still remember the look in the doctor’s face when she told him the truth behind ‘she fell from the stairs’.

“Daniel must fear you by now, Ange” Angie rolled her eyes, a genuine smile pulling up the corners of her lips.

Sousa had been confronted by a furious italian woman several times in the past, even taking a sudden left hook once that made Peggy open wide her eyes and cover an incoming laugh by calling Angie by her full name.

“This snowfall has made the feeling worse than already is,” Peggy’s hand moved a bit, as if she was pointing at something in the room. “I heard _his_ voice when I finished showering. And when I got here, I heard _him_ again over the radio.”

So that’s what made Peggy turn on the old station she listened often, a weak attempt to shut down the voice in her head with music.

“He’s gone now, my love,” Angie’s voice slowed down with the cheerful and happy-go-lucky tone, kneeling by Peggy’s side to finally look at her under the desk. “He’s been gone for a long time now; you’re here with me, down on Earth.”

She saw Peggy trying to wipe her tears with shaking hands and Angie wondered if it was okay if she lied by her side. Pampering her with affection and love, making her feel she had an anchor and that war was over for several years now. Since the moment they had made their relationship more than a few quickies and hidden kisses in the hallway of the penthouse, Angie had always wanted to wash every trauma away of Peggy. Some had faded with time, but others remained there unbothered...and some others had risen, unexpectedly.

“Are ya goin’ to let me in, Pegs?” Angie said and Peggy locked eyes with her, being welcome with warmth and understanding.

Angie had to sort the edge of the desk when Peggy pulled her into a hug, under the furniture. Her cheek was slightly sticky because of her tears, but Angie start to pamper her in kisses as soon as her lips were near Peggy’s skin. Strong arms that encircle her, warming her from head to toe.

“You’re safe,” Angie kissed her in the corner of her mouth before pressing her lips together in a soft and tender kiss. “Safer than anywhere else. No Dottie, no caps; just you and me under this desk.” A muffled giggle, letting the anxiety loosen a bit, and Angie cupped Peggy’s cheeks with both hands. “And well, all your other chicks over our heads. Damn it, Pegs, I thought I left ya full enough with what we’ve done upstairs.”

Peggy had her eyes closed, feeling Angie’s body against hers and trying to focus in just that. Angie knew that the older woman had a years-old habit to dissemble her gun when she got home from work, locking it in the gun rack. It calmed her down, but as Angie could see, dissemble every gun in the gun rack didn’t help her. Peggy didn’t seem to get the joke, as Angie felt her stiffen under her body.

“I was afraid of—“

She didn’t let her finish, already knowing what she was going to say. ‘Afraid of hurting any of you’. It wasn’t the first time it happened and Angie didn’t think that dissemble everything will work in case the worse case of the situation was meant to happen. She had seen her sweetheart put together a gun faster than anyone, even with other gun parts displayed all over the table. Fast hands, always working effectively in every situation from putting together a gun to building up Angie’s orgasms. When she pulled away from the kiss, she looked into Peggy’s eyes as she was trying to erase her fear somehow.

“I know, english, I know,” Angie sat as she could over her wife’s hips, her head against the desk in an uncomfortable angle. “And I know an old remedy for that, pie and schnapps.”

That made Peggy laugh, moving her hands to her hips, fixing absent-mind the blue robe. That was the english woman she loved, fear reducing into nothing as her warmth started to break the ice in her lungs.

“It’s six in the morning, don’t you think is a bit early for that, my darling?” Angie giggled when Peggy slid her hands up under the robe, tickling the way up Angie’s thighs. “And we are not in our twenties anymore.”

Angie leant over Peggy again, giving her another kiss before trying to stand up, her back hurting from the position. When she was finally standing on her feet, her hands went to her sides to rub away the slight pain. She noticed that the brunette didn’t follow her but before she could ask her, Peggy raised her voice softly.

“Would you please call Howard on my behalf, my darling?” Angie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Tell him that we will go there instead of them coming here,” she swallowed and her voice came out weaker. “I don’t want to be here today.”

“It’s okay, sugar, let me handle it,” her smile was warm again, the whole gesture reaching her eyes. “Take your time, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

When Angie finally step out the room, her hand took the glass she had let prepared to chug it in one shot. Everything was okay now, kind of, but okay at the end of the day. Watching Peggy hiding under the desk always made her heart squeeze tightly in her chest. She once explained her that sometimes she felt that everything was too high over her head, the feeling of herself going to fly away in any moment. Being under something helped her getting through it, her anxiety going into a new level.

She served herself another glass of schnapps and walked towards the kitchen, ready to dial Mr. Fancy, knowing that he would be awake at this hour rather than Howard. The first time Peggy did that, hiding under something, Angie thought she was going to have a heart attack. The agent had hidden under Angie’s bed because there was the only place on the penthouse—God bless that penthouse, how much she missed it— where she could actually fit under in the upper floor. Angie had her upper half naked when she tripped over Peggy’s ankles.

Jarvis picked up the phone with the second tone. Angie tried to not worry him, only telling him to tell Howard that they had ‘snow code’ at home before telling him that they would be the ones to go over there. Angie took the pie out from the fridge, cutting one big slice for both. They would understand the missing spot in the tray, or that was what Angie wanted to think.

Peggy finally walked out the room when Angie was hanging out the phone. She hugged her wife from behind, trying to keep the warmth in their bodies, before Angie fed her pie. The next kiss was sweet and Peggy could taste softly the alcohol.

“Feelin’ better, sweetie?” Angie caressed her cheek with love, offering her the glass.

“I always feel better with you by my side, dear,” she smiled a bit, taking a sip of schnapps. Her brows knitted, her eyes showing that she was feeling guilty. “I’m so sorry for waking you up this early...”

“Don’t ya worry, I’ve something on my mind already,” Angie’s smile showed Peggy her playful side. “You, and me, y’know...we can shower together afterwards, getting ready for lunch. We are young and we don’t have to go to the phone company nor the automat today.”

That detail finally got Peggy, starting to laugh genuinely. Her lips pressed together eating the last bit of pie was a whole new hint for both that Angie’s plan sounded already delightful.

Angie always thought that her english woman got everything under control. But as they went hand in hand through the years, she discovered that her sweetheart not always had the strength to keep everything in the right place.

And it was there when Angie felt in control, useful to the woman that she loved with all her heart.


End file.
